Event

Carnegie Astronomy Lecture Series

The Carnegie Observatories is back this year with a series of four public lectures on current astronomical topics. Lectures are given by astronomers from the Carnegie Observatories as well as other research institutions.

Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Lectures will be preceded by a brief musical performance by students from The Colburn School from 7-7:25 p.m. Lectures start promptly at 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be available. The 1919 café will be open until 7:15 p.m. before the lectures offering a select variety of dinner options, desserts, beer, and wine.

Supernovae are cosmic explosions where a single star can become as bright as a billion stars combined. Even though supernovae are crucial to the Universe, including producing the elements necessary for life, many mysteries remain. What powers them? Which stars are exploding? How do stars die? Astrophysicists are combining clues from observations with theoretical modeling to finally address these issues. And just like with any good mystery, often the answers lead to even more questions.

__________________________________________________MONDAY, APRIL 17: "Simulating the Universe, One Galaxy at a Time" Andrew Wetzel, Caltech-Carnegie Postdoctoral Fellow

The formation of galaxies like our Milky Way involves gravity, dark matter, gases, star formation, and stellar explosions. Theoretical astrophysics is now revealing this complex process by using the worlds most powerful supercomputers to simulate galaxy formation. Dr. Wetzel will describe dramatic new advances in understanding how galaxies form within the cosmic web of the Universe.

How do we find planets orbiting stars other than our Sun? How do we know what theyre made of, or if theyre Earth-like? Dr. Teske will discuss how exoplanets composition is inherited from their host star genes, and will highlight new exoplanet discoveries and the Carnegie Institutions pivotal role in understanding exoplanet formation and composition.

__________________________________________________MONDAY, MAY 15: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, now I see you as you are: How we see inside a star with sound"Jennifer van Saders, Carnegie-Princeton Fellow

We have sought to understand the internal workings of stars for as long as we have done astronomy, with the Sun as our first and best-studied star. Today, the technique of asteroseismology has revolutionized our view: just as seismology here on Earth reveals the interior of our own planet, asteroseismology of the stars allows us to view their central engines and structures.